The Cano Conundrum
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by JasonComack
Robinson Cano has more value as a trading chip than as a 2 nd baseman.
I know as a Yankee fan, it pains you to envision trading a 24 year old second basemen. I’m aware we haven’t had a true homegrown superstar since Derek Jeter. The problem is Robinson Cano isn’t Jeter. Cano is in his third full season. Let’s take a look at his stats over his career.
What numbers jump out at you when you look at that page? If you’re an old school baseball fan his high averages are going to wow you into thinking he’s a great hitter. If you’re a Money ball guy, you’re going to look at his On Base Percentage (OBP) and his walk rate and realize “hey…wait a second, maybe he’s not so great.”
In his 2005 he batted .297 but only had a .320 OBP, he only walked 16 times in 522 at bats. The next year was his absurd year that made everyone in New York ready to anoint him the next big thing. He batted a ridiculous .342. However he walked only 18 times. His OBP was only .365, which is good, but when you bat .342 your OBP should be much, much higher. Now, midway through his 3 rd season he is struggling. Pitchers now know how to pitch to Cano. He simply doesn’t take pitches.
Of course the argument made by most is he’s a 2 nd baseman, who can hit and play solid defense. That’s hard to find. Even if he Cano rebounds from his slump and becomes a career .300-.310 hitter, his OBP is always going to be around .320-340 if he doesn’t improve his plate discipline. Second basemen who hit are hard to find, but not second basemen that get on base.
Let’s take a look around the league.
Brian Roberts': a career .284 hitter, but his OBP is .352
Aaron Hill of the Blue Jays: a career .280 hitter has an OBP of .341
Orlando Hudson: career .278 hitter with an OBP of .341
I could go on and on.
The fact of the matter is that because Cano doesn’t have any plate discipline it kills him as a hitter. You can find a lot of players in this league that do what Cano does.
Compare his first three years to another homegrown Yankee great El Capitan Derek Jeter’s first three years.
The averages are comparable but look at the walks, 48, 74, 57. If Jeter didn’t learn plate discipline he wouldn’t be half the hitter he is today.
So what should the Yankees do with Cano? I would suggest trading him. There has been a flurry of Mark Teixeira rumors surrounding the Yankees. Obviously, the Yankees aren’t trading Hughes to get him. That would be crazy. The other names attached in a Teixeira trade are Joba Chamberlain and Ian Kennedy.
I would be very hesitant to trade Joba Chamberlain. In fact I would prefer to trade Cano rather than Chamberlain. I know that’s a statement that many may not agree with. Cano is an established 2 nd baseman in the majors, Chamberlain is a Double-A pitcher. However, Chamberlain is on the fast track to the majors. He has nasty stuff. Ken Rosenthal said he’s much rawer than Phil Hughes but his stuff might be better. Yankee fans: envision a big three of Wang, Hughes, and Chamberlain. Is that something you might be interested in?
Obviously, getting Teixeira would increase the chances of the Yanks making the playoffs this year, even if it costs us Cano. Teixeira would give us the number three hitter this team has been craving since Garry Sheffield left. It would allow Jeter to go back in the number two spot as well as moving Melky Cabrera down in the order where he belongs.
Our lineup would probably look like this:
Damon. Jeter. Teixeira. Rodriguez. Posada. Matsui. Abreu. Cairo. Cabrera.
And with our five starters finally being healthy, a second half surge to first place wouldn’t be out of reach.
I think a package of Ian Kennedy and Robinson Cano would be enough to get Teixeira in pinstripes.
I would love to keep Cano. I would. He’s a good player and has immense potential to become an elite hitter. However, I hope three years from now Cano isn’t batting .310/.330/.470 and fooling Yankee fans into thinking he's a great hitter.
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